NSAids

After reading the discussion in Cheryl's post, I decided this topic needed a thread of its own. It concerned me a bit when I learned that I might not be able to take nsaids for life. I don't make a habit of taking them, but know that anti-inflamatory drugs do have a very real place in some situations. I think the reasoning for this is that the pills have a tendency to burn/damage the stomach whereever they land. With our pouches, the landing zone is much smaller, so the likelihood of multiple pill****ting the same spot is much greater. This is the makings of an ulcer. That said, there are a couple of ways that nsaids could be safely taken if really needed. First, you can take them by shot or IV if you are in serious need. Secondly, (and this is my guess only), you could take a liquid form which would spread the medication out over a larger area, and dilute it with lots of water. Of course I would do neither without my doctor saying so. I was taking celebrex preop. So far the weight loss seems to be taking care of the arthritis in my lower back, so for now I don't anticipate needing it near-term, but I do have some concerns about this for the future. Joy

Hi Joy... Celebrex is not an NSAID so I don't know if you could take it or not... I am not sure why there's so many differences in dr's opinoins on post ops It is my hope anyone with any questions would call the dr.. Once you have ingested something it's too late.. What may be suitabe for one patient could cause great distress for another. Some of those pills affect blood pressure and also acts as a blood thinner. In those cases there is no safe way to take meds from this group. For all the money you have spent on this surgery... surely a quick phone call is no big deal to the dr....

MY doctor is allowing me ibuprofen again and said that they were "little" enough....so I make sure I swish them in my mouth with water and an empty pouch so they go through with the water....I used to take 800 mg which was 4 of them which is too strong for a lot of people's systems...but never mine. So now my limit is 2 only when I am aching in my bunioned big toes, my back the neck or some other pain keeping me from rest...and they are my wonder drug! I am happy and will take the chance but will be careful. Those other forms sound good, but I had that idea with tylenol and found out all that sugar in it made me dump badly....

Joy - I just posted about the same thing on the other thread, but I agree - the risk is in the ulcers. The one thing that annoyed me when I went to a seminar locally is that the doctor dismissed the need for NSAIDS altogether after the surgery. He was so focused on the fact that people feel better after surgery that he was failing to get my point that some people have continuing problems like arthritis and injuries which would warrant the use of a pain killer that was stronger than Tylenol. I never have gotten out of a surgeon's mouth that it would be okay to liquify the med and drink it down, but I'm assuming since I was able to do a sublingual on the Supradol (Taladol) my surgeon prescribed, that it would be okay to liquify it. I wish someone was willing to commit to that and give us a guideline for those who need to continue a stronger form of pain relief! Dina -16

My doc kind of did the same thing. I knew that whatever the answer was would not change my mind about surgery so I let it pass for the time being. Good point about the sugar in liquid meds, Sally. I didn't even think about that! I will pursue this with my doc. Celebrex is not a NSAID, but it can have the same effect on the stomach, so the same warning was given on it. I am thrilled that my arthritis is better, and I think it will improve more with more weight loss, but I know that as I get older it will come back, weight loss notwithstanding. Getting my arthritis doc to consult with my WL surgeon will take an act of congress the way doctors are these days, so I plan to arm myself with the facts! Joy

Well, the entire point is that everyone NEEDS to consult with their personal physicians on something like this. We can all give our personal experiences and why we do or don't agree with the other surgeons' opinion, but you're not under the care of the Marchers, you're under the care of your physician. My personal experience was that NSAIDs tore my stomach apart after years of using them...and that was when I had "a gut of steel". That was MY experience. Toward the end of NSAIDs, I actually would wrap the pill in bread and drink milk before and after ingesting it (which all NSAIDs will tell you in the instructions/warnings..."take with food or milk, do not take on an empty stomach"). I've had musculoskeletal problems, and although NSAIDs worked for that, they also created their own secondary problem. So for my doc to say "NEVER AGAIN" was a no-brainer ~TO ME~ because of my PERSONAL experience. If he'd've given me the go-ahead for them, I still wouldn't have taken them...again, due to my own personal experience. When I told my gynecologist I could no longer take my "baby aspirin" once a day due to my pending WLS, he was "Oh, absolutely not! Don't worry 'bout it!"...he was so behind my WLS, and it was reassuring. Sub-lingual, buccal, or injections are absorbed into your system in a totally different mode than are those that pass thru your GI system. I don't remember who it was, but a Marcher said she's gone IN to her Doc and received some sort of NSAID injection(s). I'm sure that that's a much better alternative to possibly ruining your pouch with swallowing them, and if necessary, I may even consider that myself. Same case with Dina's sub-lingual...it doesn't sit and rot/burn any part of your GI system before it's fully dissolved. So those 3 modes SEEM more acceptable IMHO. Some of us have been told to "treat your pouch like a new baby" - although I'm childless myself, I've never heard of a 'newborn' or 'infant' being given an NSAID to my recollection...thus, the "new baby" theory seems to ring true. I'd rather treat Eeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarl as a 'newborn' now rather than risk a revision down the road. Bottom line: when "we" hear of conflicts in protocol, we can debate it all we want on this board, but we are NOT physicians or pharmacists, and we are not qualified to give opinion, and "we" should CALL OUR DOCTORS and consult with THEM. Kimmer Queen of the Niners, Instigator to All Marchers, High Priestess of Giggles

I went yesterday for my 2 hour nutrition/education seminar. We were told to NEVER take advil, bc powders, pepto bismol, aspirin, ibuprofen, bufferin, motrin, excedrin, anacin, aleve, goody's. Vioxx, celebrex, bextra or any other NSAID. We can take ANY Tylenol product. I was concerned because I tend to have a lot of tension headaches and take a lot of ibuprofen.